All Blog Posts (603)

A while ago I conducted a Webinar with NiS Members Sian Grinter and Yvonne Roberts, two pretty switched-on Accountants (and all round good eggs!)

It was recorded and the replay is available online here:…

Want more videos like this? Email me with your social media questions and if necessary I'll create a video to help with providing a…

When starting a business your main options are: Sole Trader, Partnership or a Limited Company

Sole Trader Positive Aspects (+) …

In Brief:

Access to online information has to be incredibly user friendly for the mobile devices of today.

•  94% of Smartphone users have searched for local info
•  70% called a business after searching
•  66% visited in person…

When we talk about stress we assume that there are universal causes: Too much work, not enough money, arguements with our spouse, difficult children, you know what I mean...and therefore we are all equally troubled by these events.

But have you noticed that in practice, what seems like a major problem for one person, may be surmountable or even invigorating to the other? We all have a…

I'm always a bit puzzled when people are happy to spend a lot of money on botox, fillers, collegen injections and expensive 'skin plumping' creams, when there is something far simpler that they can do that doesn't cost a penny.

If you do this every day, within 2-4 weeks you should expect the following results:

• reduced shadows…

Here’s something new. Business owners have known for a while now that a good Blog can help you get remembered, draw web traffic and heighten your profile in the business community.

Then someone plugged a camera in. Video blogs were born, and many pioneers have tested the idea.

The best written blog article will be referenced, draw traffic and be shared over Social Media. …

This was one of my most fun days in Video Production. An Accountant, who is also a singer. If only more video projects could be this much fun!

http://www.videosurrey.com/2013/01/22/business-has-talent/

Made my day, I hope it makes yours...

 Dedicated to accountants everywhere - January is the cruellest…

Punctuation – The Business Writers Secret Weapon of Success Free Download 

(& Last Call for our 25th January Workshop!) 

It’s sad but true.  In business some people are sticklers for correctness in communication.  Even though you may have the best…

In many types of business, the traditional tender process is still the most effective way to demonstrate your capabilities to a potential customer. It has for many years enabled service providers to get a foot in the door and gain easy access to the decision making individuals in an organisation. Most would agree that the benefits are good if you pitch it right, but I wonder how much thought has been given to the potential downside if you get it wrong.

Experience

As a…

I'm grateful to Rachel Bennett, one of our newest Members, for taking me up on the offer of some free advice on networking strategy, and posing a question I'm often asked: 

"Which of the many networking groups out there should I attend?"  …

Sad to hear about HMV today. I spent the first 5 years of my working life at Tower Records, which eventually went in 2006.

In my opinion, the demise of Tower Records, long before online / mail order made the market as tough as it is now, was a fascinating paradox.

Was made them unique, was that there was no central buying. So every store, every section was bought by a kid that was “into” that music. Great for customers browsing who want to try something new and need a little…

Hello!

Just wanted to fill you in, if you hadn't heard, last year Penny and Thomas Power sold Ecademy to Lyndon Wood and it's new name is Sunzu, The Art Of Business.

Croydon Ecademy business networking meetings are typically very small and informal, (often 10 or less people) though Thomas has spoken at a meeting in the past when there were a lot more, and they've been running since 2003!   I took over in September 2011, 8 months pregnant and am still not fully back into my…

I once had a client shaped liked a banana. Well, not shaped like a banana as it turned out, at least not full-time. A part-time banana.

I’ll explain. It was at one of my earliest filming sessions. Having prepared a small temporary set in a meeting room, one by one members of the company’s team would come in and do their prepared slot. Being in control of the room, background noise, lighting etc I greeted each person, then could almost sit there merrily drinking coffee whilst they…

Online + Offline = Oneline. A Straight Line...

Yesterday, a perfect example of the straight line connection between online and offline behaviour was shown on a TV news programme.  Christmas sales were in full flight and the interviewer was speaking to a shopper who was using an app on his smartphone to read QR codes and barcodes to gather product and pricing information. 

First the offline link in the…

Last year I delivered a few seminars (which several NiS Members attended) on Google Places - the worst-kept free advertising secret in business! That was before it was 'sucked into' the Google+ World and became Google Local. I was delighted to be sent a link to the following article by Dave Llorens in the Fast Company ezine.

It certainly gave me food for thought, as was firmly in the 'failed…

A bit of silly season nonsense which must be true, as it comes from the Daily Mail!

Picturesque: But behind the leafy highways and byways, Surrey is a hotbed of sizzling S&M sensuality. The county has been revealed as the biggest devourer of the erotic Fifty Shades books...

The original book has…

While the positive ways in which you can differentiate yourself are vital for growing your business, so are the negatives.

By this I mean that if you understand the reasons why potential customers may not want to buy from you, you can address these and so reassure those people enough to change their minds.

The negatives are often more…